Abstract
Australia has, without a doubt, hosted among the world’s most significant amounts of vascular plant species. Some of the factors that affect the ratio of the distribution of native plant species within the Australian states include human activities and environmental conditions such as temperature and solar exposure, and duration (Hao, 2019). This research, therefore, investigates other factors that affect the ratio of native plant species in Australia and the mapping of Australia’s floral connections to the rest of the world. Native plants initially existed in the environs since time immemorial and have not been introduced by the settlers within the areas.
Since Australia is a critical player in the floral part of the world, it has contributed to various attempts to educate the world on the importance of preserving native natural species. This increases human understanding of their role in maintaining the current ratio of the distribution of native wild species. Australia has impacted the maintenance of the distribution of the world’s plant species to other countries (Preston, 2018). Australia has also hosted other invasive plants from different parts of the world. The continent’s demography has contributed to the hosting of diverse plant species because it comprises states structured differently in terms of climatic conditions to support the existence of various plant species. The research elaborates on the climatic contribution of each state toward the distribution of native and invasive vascular plant species in Australia.
Introduction
Vascular plant species are types of plants made of vascular tissues, xylem, and phloem. Vascular tissues are responsible for transporting water, mineral salts, gases, and other nutrients within the entire plant (Nicol et al., 2019). The minerals absorbed into the plant are essential because they are responsible for maintaining osmotic pressure in the plant and influence the semi-permeability of the cytoplasmic membranes of the plant cells. Plants use minerals in the formation of its body. Water is used to transport nutrients in the plant and is also used in the light stage of photosynthesis to provide hydrogen combined with carbon (IV) oxide to form energy used in the dark phase of photosynthesis. The water and mineral salts from the soil are absorbed and transported by the xylem vessels. Conversely, phloem vessels transport the products of photosynthesis. Native species are categories of plants that are not introduced by human beings in the environment they are found; instead, they are self-existing. Invasive species are plants that have been introduced to a new environment by human beings (Head, 2017) and reproduce in large numbers depending on their adaptation to the environment.
Other than environmental conditions, other factors affecting plant species distribution are human activities in the surroundings and the land’s topography (Xue, 2018). Human activities that affect the distribution of native vascular species include deforestation, growth, and development of urban centers, agricultural activities, and deforestation. Most of these human activities are mainly inclined towards the eastern coastal regions of the continent, where many tourist appearances are recorded. In contrast, deforestation and extensive land usage have been recorded on the western side of Australia (Kearney, 2019). As a result, these areas have lost some natural native plant species due to the land clearing activities of the people. Additionally, the distribution of invasive species in the regions increases because these people introduce new plants in the areas from elsewhere.
Methodology and Material
The distribution of native vascular species in Australia was the reason behind the research. The research aimed to explain how environmental conditions affect the distribution of plants within the states of Australia. It also targets describing the mappings between Australia’s floral connections to the rest of the world. Other methods of data collection that are applicable to this analysis are surveys and questionnaires, interviews, journals and books, observations, and oral history.
The most favorable method to use in this kind of research is using documentation and records in journal forms. The study is entirely based on scholarly written materials that clearly outline the factors that affect the ratio of native plant species in Australia. Academic written materials are suitable for the study because they contain factual information and figures that other writers and researchers have reviewed. The method is also cheap and resourceful, yet less time is consumed while conducting the research. Documentaries and journals are reliable because they elaborate on the issues and are reliable. The collected data is analyzed through comparison and contrast. Similar points appearing in many resources are collected and compiled. This methodology proves quite favorable because it consumes less time and resources.
Results
Since Australia is a large country, it has different states. The regions experience diverse climatic conditions due to varying degrees of latitudes. The latitudinal difference within the states causes a different timing in seasons in the areas and generates distinct weather patterns. Environmental differences influence the distribution of native plant species across the regions (Robinson, 2018). The Northern Tropical states experience wet and dry weather conditions that run throughout the summer and autumn seasons. Summer runs from December to March, while autumn begins in March and ends in May. The states experience an average temperature of twenty-nine degrees and thirteen degrees within the two seasons, respectively. The spring season runs from September to November. The weather patterns facilitate the growth of vascular species and support the existence of both tropical and subtropical rainforests. The Northern Tropical areas include New South Wales and Victoria. It also enjoys the four seasons of the year hence the high distribution of native vascular species.
Western parts of Australia witness hot and dry summers and mild winters while, On the other hand, the East Coast is wet and dry. It is the most populated part of Australia and hosts many tourists. It is hot but wet because Antarctica often contributes to instant rains in the region. Sydney, Melbourne, and Brisbane are the states that make up the coastal areas of Australia. The coastal part accommodates aquatic life and plants that withstand the coastal climate (Bellard et al., 2018). The Australian coastal states are Queensland, South Australia, and Tasmania. Queensland is widely known for its beaches and prestigious islands and records high tourist visitation. It is also a home for many rainforests hosting various species of vascular plants.
Discussion
Environmental conditions like temperature, rainfall, solar duration, and species distribution in specific regions will alter the distribution of the plants’ species. Additionally, an increase in the human population in some areas has interfered with the distribution of vegetation, leading to change in climatic conditions. Human activities have destroyed vegetation coverage in densely populated areas, resulting in aridity in the regions (Jakobsson, 2018). The exposure of the plants to dust closes the pore of the plants and prevents aeration, causing the death of the plants. Pollution has also contributed to the destruction of vegetation in the states. Successively, the acidity of the soil changes and eliminates the weak species.
Environmental conditions significantly affect pollination, growth, and energy processing in plants. A high temperature is required during the hardening of the fruit to form seeds. Plants that grow from seeds, therefore, need a high-temperature interval to facilitate the formation of the seed (Hoffmann et al., 2019). After constructing the basis, the embryo requires wet conditions to initiate the plant’s growth process. The sources also need sunlight, nutrients, and air to continue with the process. The Australian weather patterns are good enough to favor the approach from the initial stage to the last and thus affecting the distribution of the natural native species in every period.
Invasive plants are brought into the continent by people who migrate into the region, and later the plants adapt to the environmental conditions of these areas. After adjusting to these conditions, the plants gain numbers and begin to endanger the existence of the natural natives. Due to the favorable environmental and climatic conditions in Australia, invasive plant species often survive. Invasive plants prosper in areas with readily available food nutrients and water with less competition. The response of the invasive plants to the new climatic conditions determines whether most of them will survive and multiply or die (Kariyawasam, 2019). Invasive plant species are majorly distributed in Australia’s east coastal region and the western and south-western regions because these are the areas with the most significant population densities. Conversely, the northern parts of Australia are majorly constituted of natural native species because the distribution of the human population is less inclined towards these areas. Furthermore, the region consists of tropical and subtropical rainforests that mainly host natural native plant species. Invasive species reproduce in large numbers and may, at times, interfere with the distribution of wild native plants.
Invasive species often endanger the continued existence of native species through competition for the available food and introducing diseases and parasites in the area. The competition for available nutrients and nutrition leads to a reduction in the number of native species. Invasive species cause an imbalance that raises cases of plant malnutrition, hindering the continued reproduction of new generations of the same species (Martín-Forés et al., 2017). Initially, the short-run effect of invasion by new species causes a reduction in the number of native species. Invasive species introduce new diseases and parasites. The introduction of the conditions and the native plants narrows the population of the natives by reducing it. Later, the plant’s population may increase or deteriorate further based on the response of the natives to adapt to the nature of the disease. Parasites also may multiply or die depending on the reaction of the new host.
Australia is known worldwide for hosting among the world’s most enormous biodiversity. The continent has the highest percentage of species distribution in the world. Australia is diversified and hosts species that are similar to many other countries with rainforests. Australia hosts various types of plants because it has different regions with specific climatic conditions. The different climatic conditions create favorable conditions to host diverse plants like the rest of other countries. Research also shows that the majority of the plants found in other countries also exist in Australia. Moreover, Australia had been neglected after the evolutionary period after the breakup from the Gondwanan, making it accommodative to the multitudes of plant species. The weather is favorable because it remains ice-free, unlike the northern hemisphere.
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